56 metres (184 ft) from ground level to the apex of the stage flytower; 32 metres (105 ft) to the top of the facade[4]

Dimensions

Other dimensions

154.9 metres (508 ft) long; 70.2 metres (230 ft) wide at the lateral galleries; 101.2 metres (332 ft) wide at the east and west pavilions; 10.13 metres (33.2 ft) from ground level to bottom of the cistern under the stage[5]

The Palais Garnier (pronounced: French ) is a 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines, because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier, in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier. The theatre is also often referred to as the Opéra Garnier (French ) and historically was known as the Opéra de Paris or simply the Opéra,[7] as it was the primary home of the Paris Opera and its associated Paris Opera Ballet until 1989, when the Opéra Bastille opened at the Place de la Bastille.[8] The Paris Opera now mainly uses the Palais Garnier for ballet.

The Palais Garnier is "probably the most famous opera house in the world, a symbol of Paris like Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, or the Sacré Coeur Basilica."[9] This is at least partly due to its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera and, especially, the novel's subsequent adaptations in films and Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular 1986 musical.[9] Another contributing factor is that among the buildings constructed in Paris during the Second Empire, besides being the most expensive,[10] it has been described as the only one that is "unquestionably a masterpiece of the first rank."[11] This opinion is far from unanimous however: the 20th-century French architect Le Corbusier once described it as "a lying art" and contended that the "Garnier movement is a décor of the grave".[12]

Architecture and style

The Palais Garnier is a building of exceptional opulence. The style is monumental and considered Second-EmpireBeaux-Arts style with axial symmetry in plan and eclectic exterior ornamentation with an abundance of Neo-Baroque decorative elements.[15] These include very elaborate multicolored marble friezes, columns, and lavish statuary, many of which portray deities of Greek mythology.

Exterior

Main facade

Gumery's L'Harmonie (1869), atop the left avant-corps of the façade, is 7.5 metres (25 ft) of gilt copper electrotype

The principal facade is on the south side of the building, overlooking the Place de l'Opéra and terminates the perspective along the Avenue de l'Opéra. Fourteen painters, mosaicists and seventy-three sculptors participated in the creation of its ornamentation.

The two gilded figural groups, Charles Gumery's L'Harmonie (Harmony) and La Poésie (Poetry), crown the apexes of the principal facade's left and right avant-corps. They are both made of gilt copper electrotype.

Stage flytower

The sculptural group Apollo, Poetry, and Music, located at the apex of the south gable of the stage flytower, is the work of Aimé Millet, and the two smaller bronze Pegasus figures at either end of the south gable are by Eugène-Louis Lequesne.

Facade of the Palais Garnier with labels indicating the locations of various sculptures

Pavillon de l'Empereur

Also known as the Rotonde de l'Empereur, this group of rooms is located on the left (west) side of the building and was designed to allow secure and direct access by the Emperor via a double ramp to the building. When the Empire fell, work stopped, leaving unfinished dressed stonework. It now houses the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra de Paris (Paris Opera Library-Museum) which is home to nearly 600,000 documents including 100,000 books, 1,680 periodicals, 10,000 programs, letters, 100,000 photographs, sketches of costumes and sets, posters and historical administrative records.

Pavillon des Abonnés

East facade and the Pavillon des Abonnés

Located on the right (east) side of the building as a counterpart to the Pavillon de l'Empereur, this pavilion was designed to allow subscribers (abonnés) direct access from their carriages to the interior of the building. It is covered by a 13.5 metre diameter dome. Two pairs of obelisks marking the entrances of the Rotunda to the north and the south.

Interior

The interior consists of interweaving corridors, stairwells, alcoves and landings allowing the movement of large numbers of people and space for socializing during intermission. Rich with velvet, gold leaf, and cherubim and nymphs, the interior is characteristic of Baroque sumptuousness.

Grand staircase

The Grand Staircase

The building features a large ceremonial staircase of white marble with a balustrade of red and green marble, which divides into two divergent flights of stairs that lead to the Grand Foyer. Its design was inspired by Victor Louis's grand staircase for the Théâtre de Bordeaux. The pedestals of the staircase are decorated with female torchères, created by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse. The ceiling above the staircase was painted by Isidore Pils to depict The Triumph of Apollo, The Enchantment of Music Deploying its Charms, Minerva Fighting Brutality Watched by the Gods of Olympus, and The City of Paris Receiving the Plan of the New Opéra. When they were first fixed in place two months before the opening of the building it was obvious to Garnier that they were too dark for the space. With the help of two of his students, Pils had to rework the canvases while they were in place overhead on the ceiling and, at the age of 61, he fell ill. His students had to finish the work, which was completed the day before the opening and the scaffolding was removed.[18]

Grand Foyer

The Grand Foyer

Part of the ceiling of the Grand Foyer with paintings by Paul Baudry: the central rectangular panel is Music, while the oval panel at the western end is Comedy.

This hall 18 meters high, 154 meters long and 13 meters wide was designed to act as a drawing room for Paris society. It was restored in 2004. Its ceiling was painted by Paul-Jacques-Aimé Baudry and represents various moments in the history of music. The foyer opens into an outside loggia at each end of which are the Salon de la Lune and Salon du Soleil.

Auditorium

Auditorium

Transverse section at the auditorium and pavilions

The auditorium has a traditional Italian horseshoe shape and can seat 1,979. The stage is the largest in Europe and can accommodate as many as 450 artists. The canvas house curtain was painted to represent a draped curtain, complete with tassels and braid.

The ceiling area, which surrounds the chandelier, was originally painted by Bizet, Verdi, Beethoven, and Gluck. Although praised by some, others feel Chagall's work creates "a false note in Garnier's carefully orchestrated interior."[19]

Auditorium chandelier

The 7-ton bronze and crystal chandelier was designed by Garnier. Jules Corboz prepared the model, and it was cast and chased by Lacarière, Delatour & Cie. The total cost came to 30,000 gold francs. The use of a central chandelier aroused controversy, and it was criticized for obstructing views of the stage by patrons in the fourth level boxes and views of the ceiling painted by Eugène Lenepveu.[20] Garnier had anticipated these disadvantages but provided a lively defense in his 1871 book Le Théâtre: "What else could fill the theatre with such joyous life? Who else could offer the variety of forms that we have in the pattern of the flames, in these groups and tiers of points of light, these wild hues of gold flecked with bright spots, and these crystalline highlights?"[21]

Originally the chandelier was raised up through the ceiling into the cupola over the auditorium for cleaning, but now it is lowered. The space in the cupola was used in the 1960s for opera rehearsals, and in the 1980s was remodeled into two floors of dance rehearsal space. The lower floor consists of the Salle Nureïev (Nureyev) and the Salle Balanchine, and the upper floor, the Salle Petipa.[20]

Organ

The grand organ was built by the Aristide Cavaillé-Coll for use during lyrical works. It has been out of service for several decades.

Restaurant

Garnier had considered installing a restaurant, however for budgetary reasons it was not proceeded with.

After three attempts since 1875, a restaurant was opened on the eastern side of the building in 2011. The L'Opéra Restaurant was designed by French architect Odile Decq. The chef is Christophe Aribert.[22] The restaurant, which has three different spaces and a large outside terrace is accessible to the general public, without the need to buy a ticket to the building or a performance.

History

Two proposed sites for a new opera house, c. 1856, with alternative routes for a broad avenue leading from the Louvre to the new theatre (the future Avenue de l'Opéra)

With the establishment of the Emperor Napoleon III at the entrance to the Salle Le Peletier on 14 January 1858. The Salle Le Peletier's constricted street access highlighted the need for a separate, more secure entrance for the head of state. This concern and the inadequate facilities and temporary nature of the theatre gave added urgency to the building of a new state-funded opera house. By March Haussmann settled on Rohault de Fleury's proposed site off the Boulevard des Capucines, although this decision was not announced publicly until 1860. A new building would help resolve the awkward convergence of streets at this location, and the site was economical in terms of the cost of land.[25]

On 29 September 1860 an imperial decree officially designated the site for the new Opéra,[26] which would eventually occupy 12,000 square metres (1.2 ha).[27] By November 1860 Rohault de Fleury had completed the design for what he thought would be the crowning work of his career and was also working on a commission from the city to design the facades of the other buildings lining the new square to ensure they were in harmony. However that same month Achille Fould was replaced as minister of state by Count Alexandre Colonna-Walewski. His wife Marie Anne de Ricci Poniatowska had used her position as mistress of Napoleon III to obtain her husband's appointment.[28] Aware of competing designs and under pressure to give the commission to Viollet-le-Duc, who had the support of Empress Eugénie, Walewski escaped the need to make a decision by proposing to mount an architectural design competition to select the architect.[29]

Entrance elevation of a project for the Théâtre Impériale de l'Opéra by Rohault de Fleury, November 1860

Plan

Design Competition

On 30 December 1860 the Second Empire of Emperor Napoleon III officially announced an architectural design competition for the design of the new opera house.

Applicants were given a month to submit entries. There were two phases to the competition. Charles Garnier (1825–1898) was one of 171 entrants in the first phase.[30] Each of the entrants were required to submit a motto that summarised their design. Garnier's was the quote "Bramo assai, poco spero" ("desire for much, hope for little") from the Italian poet Torquato Tasso. Garnier was awarded the fifth-place prize and became one of five finalists selected for the second phase.[31] In addition to Garnier, the others were his friend Leon Ginain, Alphonse-Nicolas Crépinet and Joseph-Louis Duc (who subsequently withdrew due to other commitments).[30] To the surprise of many, both Viollet-le-Duc and Charles Rohault de Fleury missed out.

Viollet-de-Duc's losing Opera Competition project of 1861

Perspective view

Plan

Long section

The second phase required the contestants to revise their original projects and was more rigorous, with a 58-page program, written by the director of the Opéra, Alphonse Royer, which the contestants received on 18 April. The new submissions were sent to the jury in the middle of May, and on 29 May 1861 Garnier's project was selected for its "rare and superior qualities in the beautiful distribution of the plans, the monumental and characteristic aspect of the facades and sections".[32]

Garnier's wife Louise later wrote that the French architect Alphonse de Gisors, who was on the jury, had commented to them that Garnier's project was "remarkable in its simplicity, clarity, logic, grandeur, and because of the exterior dispositions which distinguish the plan in three distinct parts—the public spaces, auditorium, and stage ... 'you have greatly improved your project since the first competition; whereas Ginain [the first-place winner in the first phase] has ruined his.'"[32]

Legend has it that the Emperor's wife, the Empress Eugénie, who was likely irritated that her own favored candidate, Viollet-le-Duc, had not been selected, asked the relatively unknown Garnier: "What is this? It's not a style; it's neither Louis Quatorze, nor Louis Quinze, nor Louis Seize!" "Why Ma'am, it's Napoléon Trois" replied Garnier "and you're complaining!"[33] Andrew Ayers has written that Garnier's definition "remains undisputed, so much does the Palais Garnier seem emblematic of its time and of the Second Empire that created it. A giddy mixture of up-to-the-minute technology, rather prescriptive rationalism, exuberant eclecticism and astonishing opulence, Garnier's opera encapsulated the divergent tendencies and political and social ambitions of its era."[1] Ayers goes on to say that the judges of the competition in particular admired Garnier's design for "the clarity of his plan, which was a brilliant example of the beaux-arts design methods in which both he and they were thoroughly versed."[1]

Opéra Agence

The Opéra Agence drafting room: Garnier is second from the right, with Edmond Le Deschault on the far right, and Victor Louvet, second from the left[34]

After the initial funds to begin construction were voted on 2 July 1861, Garnier established the Opéra Agence, his office on the construction site, and hired a team of architects and draftsmen. He selected as his second-in-command, Louis-Victor Louvet, followed by Jean Jourdain and Edmond Le Deschault.[35]

Laying of the foundation

Foundation work (20 May 1862)

The site was excavated between 27 August and 31 December.[36] On 13 January 1862 the first concrete foundations were poured, starting at the front and progressing sequentially toward the back, with the laying of the substructure masonry beginning as soon as each section of concrete was cast. The opera house needed a much deeper basement in the substage area than other building types, but the level of the groundwater was unexpectedly high. Wells were sunk in February 1862 and eight steam pumps installed in March, but despite operating continuously 24 hours a day, the site would not dry up. To deal with this problem Garnier designed a double foundation to protect the superstructure from moisture. It incorporated a water course and an enormous concrete cistern (cuve) which would both relieve the pressure of the external groundwater on the basement walls and serve as a reservoir in case of fire. A contract for its construction was signed on 20 June. Soon a persistent legend arose that the opera house was built over a subterranean lake, inspiring Gaston Leroux to incorporate the idea into his novel The Phantom of the Opera. On 21 July the cornerstone was laid at the southeast angle of the building's facade. In October the pumps were removed, the brick vault of the cuve was finished by 8 November, and the substructure was essentially complete by the end of the year.[37]

Model

Villeminot model (May 1863)

The emperor expressed an interest in seeing a model of the building, and a plaster scale model (2 cm per meter) was constructed by Louis Villeminot between April 1862 and April 1863 at a cost of more than 8,000 francs. After previewing it, the emperor requested several changes to the design of the building, the most important of which was the suppression of a balustraded terrace with corner groups at the top of the facade and its replacement with a massive attic story fronted by a continuous frieze surmounted by imperial quadrigae over the end bays.[38]

With the incorporated changes, the model was transported over specially installed rails to the Palais de l'Industrie for public display at the 1863 exhibition. Théophile Gautier wrote of the model (Le Moniteur Universel, 13 May 1863) that "the general arrangement becomes intelligible to all eyes and already acquires a sort of reality that better permits one to prejudge the final effect ... it attracts the crowd's curiosity; it is, in effect, the new Opéra seen through reversed opera glasses."[39] The model is now lost, but it was photographed by J. B. Donas in 1863.[38]

The emperor's quadrigae were never added, although they can be seen in the model. Instead Charles-Alphonse Guméry's gilded bronze sculptural groups Harmony and Poetry were installed in 1869. The linear frieze seen in the model was also redesigned with alternating low- and high-relief decorative medallions bearing the gilded letters from the imperial monogram ("N" for Napoléon, "E" for Empereur). The custom-designed letters were not ready in time for the unveiling and were replaced with commercially available substitutes. After the fall of the empire in 1870, Garnier was relieved to be able to remove them from the medallions. Letters in Garnier's original design were finally installed during the restoration of the building in 2000.[40]

Change in name

The scaffolding concealing the facade was removed on 15 August 1867 in time for the Paris Exposition of 1867. The official title of the Paris Opera was prominently displayed on the entablature of the giant Corinthian order of coupled columns fronting the main-floor loggia: "ACADEMIE IMPERIALE DE MUSIQUE".[41] When the emperor was deposed on 4 September 1870 as a result of the disastrous Franco-Prussian War, the government was replaced by the Third Republic, and almost immediately, on 17 September 1870, the Opera was renamed Théâtre National de l'Opéra, a name it kept until 1939.[42] In spite of this, when it came time to change the name on the new opera house, only the first six letters of the word IMPERIALE were replaced, giving the now famous "ACADEMIE NATIONALE DE MUSIQUE", an official title which had actually only been used during the approximately two-year period of the Second Republic which had preceded the Second Empire.[42]

1870–1871

All work on the building came to a halt during the Franco-Prussian War due to the siege of Paris (September 1870 – January 1871). Construction had so advanced that parts of the building could be used as a food warehouse and a hospital. After France's defeat Garnier became seriously ill from the deprivations of the siege and left Paris from March to June to recover on the Ligurian coast of Italy, while his assistant Louis Louvet remained behind during the turmoil of the Paris Commune which followed. Louvet wrote several letters to Garnier, which document events relating to the building. Because of the theatre's proximity to the fighting at the Place Vendôme, troops of the National Guard bivouacked there and were in charge of its defense and distributing food to soldiers and civilians. The Commune authorities planned to replace Garnier with another architect, but this unnamed man had not yet appeared when Republican troops ousted the National Guard and gained control over the building on 23 May. By the end of the month the Commune had been severely defeated. The Third Republic had become sufficiently well established by the fall, that on 30 September construction work recommenced, and by late October a small amount of funds were voted by the new legislature for further construction.[43]

1872–1873

The political leaders of the new government maintained an intense dislike of all things associated with the Second Empire, and many of them regarded the essentially apolitical Garnier as a holdover from that regime. This was especially true during the presidency of Adolphe Thiers who remained in office until May 1873, but also persisted under his successor Marshal MacMahon. Economies were demanded, and Garnier was forced to suppress the completion of sections of the building, in particular the Pavillon de l'Empereur (which later became the home of the Opera Library Museum). However, on 28–29 October an overwhelming incentive to complete the new theatre came when the Salle Le Peletier was destroyed by a fire which raged the entire night.[44] Garnier was immediately instructed to complete the building as soon as possible.

Completion

The cost of completion of the new house during 1874 was more than 7.5 million francs, a sum that greatly exceeded the amounts spent in any of the previous thirteen years. The cash-strapped government of the Third Republic resorted to borrowing 4.9 million gold francs at an interest rate of six percent from François Blanc, the wealthy financier who managed the Monte Carlo Casino. Subsequently (from 1876 to 1879) Garnier would oversee the design and construction of the Monte Carlo Casino concert hall, the Salle Garnier, which later became the home of the Opéra de Monte Carlo.[45]

During 1874 Garnier and his construction team worked feverishly to complete the new Paris opera house, and by 17 October the orchestra was able to conduct an acoustical test of the new auditorium, followed by another on 2 December which was attended by officials, guests, and members of the press. The Paris Opera Ballet danced on the stage on 12 December, and six days later the famous chandelier was lit for the first time.[46]

History of the house since opening

The Grand Escalier

In 1881 electric lighting was installed. In the 1950s new personnel and freight elevators were installed at the rear of stage, to facilitate the movement of employees in the administration building and the moving of stage scenery.

In 1969, the theatre was given new electrical facilities and, during 1978, part of the original Foyer de la Danse was converted into new rehearsal space for the Ballet company by the architect Jean-Loup Roubert. During 1994, restoration work began on the theatre. This consisted of modernizing the stage machinery and electrical facilities, while restoring and preserving the opulent décor, as well as strengthening the structure and foundation of the building. This restoration was completed in 2007.

Stamps

The French Post Office has issued two postage stamps on the building: The first was issued in September 1998, for the centenary of the death of Charles Garnier. It was designed by Claude Andréotto grouping elements which recall the artistic activities of the Opera Garnier: the profile of a dancer, a violin and a red curtain. The second, drawn and engraved by Martin Mörck, is issued in June 2006 and represents, in intaglio, the main facade.

Influence abroad

The building inspired many other buildings over the following thirty years.

Several buildings in Poland were based on the design of the Palais Garnier. these include the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków, built during 1893 and also the Warsaw Philharmony edifice in Warsaw, built between 1900 and 1901.

The Amazon Theatre in Manaus (Brazil) built from 1884 to 1896. The overview is very similar, though the decoration is simpler.

The Hanoi Opera House in Vietnam is considered to be a typical French colonial architectural monument in Vietnam, and it is also a small-scale replica of the Palais Garnier. The Saigon Opera House is a smaller counterpart.

References

Notes

^ abcAyers 2004, pp. 172–174.

^Mead 1991, p. 146. Haussmann reported on 14 August 1871 that the site had been cleared and surveyed. A temporary building for the Opéra Agence was erected in August, and excavation was begun on the 27th.

^Mead 1991, p. 197. According to this source, more work was done after this date, and some parts of the building were never completed. The figure does not include the costs of acquiring and clearing the land, which was the responsibility of Haussmann's Service d'Architecture and probably exceeded 15 million francs (Mead 1991, pp. 140, 146).

^Nuitter 1875, p. 250. Heights are measured from the ground level of the Place de l'Opéra. The sculpture at the apex of the stage flytower roof is not included, but would add an additional 7.50 metres.

^Nuitter 1875, pp. 249–250. The length is measured from the south side of the principal facade to the north side of the avant-corps of the administration; the widths, between the exteriors of the two lateral galleries, and the east and west pavilions; basement depth, from the ground level of the Place de l'Opéra to the bottom of the cistern under the stage house.

^Jouffroy's group is titled l'Harmonie in Nuitter 1878, p. 11, and in Garnier 1875–81, vol. 1, p. 424, vol. 2, p. 273, but is identified as La Poésie in the "Table des planches" of the 1875 atlas folio Statues décoratives (View at Wikimedia Commons), and according to Fontaine 2000, p. 82, is also sometimes referred to as Lyric Poetry.

^ abFontaine 2000

^Kirkland 2013, pp. 283—284.

^Hanser 2006, p. 177.

^ abcFontaine 2004, p. 94–95.

^Garnier 1871, p. 205; quoted and translated in Fontaine 2004, p. 94.

^Paris Opera Restaurant Press Release

^Mead 1991, p. 53.

^Kirkland 2014, pp. 188–189.

^Mead 1991, pp. 53–56.

^Mead 1991, p. 58; Kirkland. Page 190.

^Beauvert 1996, p. 102.

^Kirkland 2013, pp. 185–186.

^Kirkland 2013, p. 191.

^ abKirkland 2013, p. 192

^Mead 1991, pp. 60–62.

^ abQuoted and translated in Mead 1991, pp. 76, 290.

^Translated and quoted by Ayers 2004, pp. 172–174. The architectural styles mentioned by the empress were those which prevailed during the reigns of Louis XIV, XV, and XVI. For more information, see the sections on Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism in French architecture.

^Photo by Louis-Emile Durandelle. Mead 1991, p. 138, reproduces a different print (fig. 187) of the same photograph (from the Bibliothèque nationale, see a copy at Commons) and identifies the three men. This particular print is from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, whose annotator dates it to ca. 1870. The elevation of the opera house shown in the background is quite similar to a design dated to the spring of 1862 by Mead 1991, p. 90 (see copy at Commons).

Garnier, Charles (1875–81). Le nouvel Opéra de Paris, two volumes text and six atlas folios (two with architectural plates and four with plates of photographs by Louis-Emile Durandelle of sculptures and paintings). Paris: Ducher. List of entries at WorldCat.

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